


Into the Woods

by Sour_Girl



Category: Monster Prom (Visual Novel)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, F/M, Human/Monster Romance, Interspecies Relationship(s), Light Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Summer Camp, poor oz please come help this boy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-10-10 08:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20525246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sour_Girl/pseuds/Sour_Girl
Summary: Ah, summer...Time for fun with friends, forgetting school, and irresponsible decisions! Or is it? Nearly out of High School, you're prepared to enjoy your break, when your parents whisk you off to see friends and relatives in the mountains all summer long.With far better things to do then be ignored by people twice your age, you spend the time on your terms and all is fine, until you run into... something. A strange shadow boy, who you come to find is far more shy and lovable dork then monster.As things turn out, you're both a little different then the other expected, and not necessarily for the worst. But with your respective worlds hounding after you, is the chance for something more even possible? And furthermore, will things work out before the summers end, or will you both be forced your separate ways...





	1. Chapter 1

You stared out your bedroom window, looking on with boredom at the edge of the forest, contemplating how you’d gotten into this mess.

Just when you’d been looking forward to a laid back summer with friends and maybe a little job for some money on the side, your parents roped you into a “summer getaway to the mountains” including living in a decent sized lodge tucked away on the edge of nature. Apparently it had been a spur of the moment gift from your grandparents, who were a little too elderly to get much use out of it, but didn’t quite have the heart to sell it. 

All in all, the place was a bit of a fixer upper, but at least you were far away from the summer heat. Heck, one of the only things really making this all so awful was simply the fact that it was _so_ lonely. 

Sure, you had your phone, laptop, and a mostly reliable internet connection, but all that wasn’t as great a substitute for your friends nor your room as your parents thought. Though, you supposed that you were at least a little to blame... It wasn’t to say your parents _didn’t_ try to get you to come with them on all their excursions to see old friends and nearly estranged family, but you’d tried that once or twice already and decided after about 20 minutes that you could only take so much “How’s school?” and “That’s nice” before being almost completely ignored.

Awakening from your thoughts and rather bored from day in and day out of reading and playing games, you decided to go for a change of scenery.

\---

For the twenty-seventh time that game alone, the frisbee was sent arching over Oz’s head to one of a hand full of fellow peers placed in a sparse, unorganized jumbled with him. At first he called it coincidence, if not his sheer inability to jump more than an inch or so off the ground, but as the snickering grew more obvious and passes more and more just out of his reach… Well, he was ready to call it quits.

Before the next toss even flew over his head, Oz had decided to give up bothering to try for it. Just as he was about to announce to no one in particular that he was out, a chorus of disgruntled complaints sprung up from the group.

“Well _someone_ has to get!”

The monster on the receiving end had missed the catch and the disk had sailed off into the forest on the edge of camp. Normally, no one had an issue sneaking off from the grounds, school or otherwise, but the no monster’s land surrounding this camp wasn’t your average restricted area. There was something… _something,_ prowling the woods around here, something even monsters should be wary of. Or, so everyone was told. There were even rumors that these old, foggy woods led straight into the _human world._

The other monsters looked at one another nervously, confirming that Oz wasn’t the only one afraid that the campfire stories were true.

Trying to be at least a little helpful before storming off, Oz offered, “M-maybe we should just forge-”

“Ladies and gentlemonsters, we have a volunteer!”, one of the particularly antagonistic monsters jeered, as two others grabbed Oz from both sides.

Without even a moment to react, Oz yelped, struggling rather pathetically as he was easily picked up and carried to the edge of the woods. After a wind up into a full on toss, he was sent tumbling down into the underbrush of the forest.

“Let us know if you find anything!”, the voice of one and the laughter of many dropped off dramatically as Oz finally rolled to a stop. Once the world stopped spinning, he looked up dejectedly to see the others had left, then shifted his focus to his surroundings before making any sudden moves. Oz got up as slowly as possible, far too terrified to move, let alone call out to anyone who might happen to be in earshot. 

An owl hooted in the distance, invisible in the thick fog surrounding him, causing Oz to wince in fear. It wasn’t too late to try and go back, but… 

After a second or two of standing frozen, Oz shook himself loose. _This was ridiculous._ See, for as long as he could remember he'd always had problems with anxiety, although as the concept of fear itself, that never made sense to him. Regardless, this was a flaw he was determined as of late to overcome.

It wasn’t until last semester, when the time of the Monster Prom was upon the school that he made his very first promise to himself to be a bit more brave. After nearly a month of bending over backwards for, and getting caught up in the most outrageous schemes with his crush, all just to be rejected in the moment of truth… Needless to say, he spent Prom night at home. Alone. Crying himself to sleep to be specific, but after insisting his three friends should go and enjoy the night without him, no one knew about that part. 

No, it was time for him to learn to manage his own self doubt and become his best (worst?) self! At least, that’s what his friends told him after all was said and done. 

Oz continued on through the woods, catching only whispers of whatever haunted them, but otherwise moving on unhindered. Once he got more comfortable with the surroundings, he went back to his thoughts. It was no secret that if he, or anyone really, wanted to succeed in monster society, he needed to learn to be a little more ruthless, or at the very least stop being so damn nervous all the time. 

But the issue there was… He wasn’t sure he wanted to.

He didn’t want to become a ruthless maniac like most of the popular kids at school, but if he couldn’t learn to do _whatever it takes,_ then what good was he? One of his most profound memories on the subject was the time he overheard someone commenting that he was a “waste of potential”, to summarize. After all, imagine being the very concept of fear itself, but being handicapped as a functioning, terrifying monster because you’re scared of, well, _yourself._

That one may have hurt his feelings _and_ his brain, but… were they wrong? Oz certainly didn’t think so, and yet he couldn’t help but have this nagging feeling. 

It was kinda crazy, but what if he just wasn’t _meant_ for monster society? For example, just look at Zoey! Back when she was Z’gord, she was without a doubt one of the most horrific monsters of all, so terrible in fact, that she had to be locked into her own dimension. Sometimes he wondered if he could make a similar case for himself. Besides, he was... _different_ too, and having a whole realm to himself sounded far better than getting put down at every turn for things that were mostly, if not completely, out of his control.

Suddenly Oz stopped, jerked out of his thoughts. The air in front of him had a smokey, dense quality like a giant wall stretching further in all directions then he could see. He took a step back, looking at the ground on either side of him. He hadn’t found the frisbee yet, so it must be further on, but beyond this point was _definitely_ the human world. He supposed he should've been a little more shocked, but after all the seemingly random and impossible things that went on in day to day high school alone, just about everything in life had lost its shock value to him. Oz looked over his shoulder. _Maybe he could just go back and accept the hazing?_ He considered it for a moment, before looking forward again, this time with determination. _No,_ he had to do this. It was part of his self actualization plan, remember?

_R-right…_

Oz swallowed and closed his eyes, but tentatively pushed on. His skin tingled with ancient magic as he passed through the barrier, taking a few more blind steps before stopping again and cracking open his eyes as little as possible, as though something on this side was just waiting to attack them. 

But… nothing happened.

Happy as he was to not have been immediately assaulted in the human world, he almost couldn’t believe it. He blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the light in this place. The best he could manage was squint, but it was enough. He didn't to see much to notice that this part of the woods was _nothing_ like the monster side. 

The tree population wasn’t as suffocatingly dense, giving the area an almost open, airy feeling. The grass, branches, and even the tree bark were vivid shades of green and brown, an inviting contrast to the muddy, muted pallet on the other side. Though, that could have been from the sheer amount of light radiating through the branches. For the sake of experiencing it, Oz moved his pitch black hand into a patch of direct sunlight, something he almost never had a chance to do in the gloomy, almost constant overcast back home. The unfiltered light made his skin feel tight and nearly hot, but as uncomfortable as it was, the sensation seemed wonderful too.

A stiff breeze rushed over him, rustling the branches over head and rearranging the yellow bandanna tied around his collar. Oz turned as if to watch the wind leave, almost wishing it would circle back again. It’s touch was warm and comforting, and the scent it left behind was musky, but clean, as though it had passed through a rain shower on it’s way to greet him. A few birds sang and flitted in the branches above, and for the first time in _ages,_ Oz felt calm.

Standing straight, his shoulders hung loosely, the muscles releasing as he stood completely disarmed. Even the little phobias he carried inside as a part of him, always whispering his insecurities and anxieties back to him, were silent. For all the joking and messing around that went on in the monster world, one subject that was never taken lightly was traveling to the human dimension. After all, it was the home of monsterkind’s greatest enemy, and the magics of the monster world, for whatever reason, couldn’t protect you once inside. But, how could such a supposedly awful place be so… _beautiful?_

A valid question, but for now, Oz forgot why he was even there.

\---

Phone in one hand, and pocket knife in the other, you hiked leisurely through the unexplored woods. With a few clicks, you turned up your music before returning your phone to your pocket and paying closer attention to the nonexistent path in front of you. It was a nice coniferous forest, mostly pine and cedar trees you noted. A few beams of sunlight speared through to the forest floor, causing the evaporation from last night’s rain storm to flood the edges of your sight line with a gentle fog. 

You got your phone back out for a moment and took a few pictures, then continued on, thinking about how excited for fall this atmosphere made you. In fact, it kind of made you want to go home and re-read all your monster and occultology books, you thought, casually flipping your knife open and shut. 

An “early college gift” from you parents, it was really nothing more than a fancy pocket knife, with it’s polished steel blade and carbon fiber handle, but it was big enough to be a considerable weapon, so you kept it with you whenever possible.

As you made your way deeper in, you eventually came into viewing distance of a wide oak tree. Without a second thought you wound up and tossed your knife as hard as you could. The angle it entered on wasn’t as straight as you would’ve liked, but you were happy to actually be hitting things at all, let alone getting the blade to stick. You ran up to the tree with a wide grin and retrieved your blade. Instilled with a newfound excitement, you looked around for other good targets. 

Your first thought was to go deeper into the forest, but beyond this tree was a practical wall of vegetation and fog, so you settled for exploring laterally, following wherever your knife took you. Keeping track of your location relative to your house, you continued like that for a good while until you reached the outskirts of what seemed like a clearing. Ugh, maybe you should turn back to where the _actual_ forest was. 

...Or, maybe you could practice some long distance throwing. With your mind quickly made up, you strutted to the lip of the clearing with only a low hedge of bushes separating you from it. You lifted a branch out of your face and looked out to the area, but before you could even catch your next breath, something else caught your eye.

Out in the open, staring fixedly at the sky, was… _something._ You felt your heart hammering in your chest immediately, as your brain went into a panic trying to decide your next course of action.

You’d read enough in your books and seen enough on the internet to recognize a shadow monster when you saw one, but… that was the issue wasn’t it? This wasn’t a book, or a horror movie, this was _real._ Thankfully it (he?) didn’t seem to have noticed you, which bought you a little more time to observe. The creature lifted it’s hand to a patch of light, turning it over in examination. 

As the name implies, the being itself was pitch black, with a nearly featureless face and body, the outline of which, was… blurry, in a way. That is to say, the outline of a humanoid shape was easily visible, but where a regular person or object had crisp, defined edges, he looked as though he were far away, or from a dream.

Now as a true fan of mythology and the occult, you didn’t really have a “favorite” monster… _But,_ shadow people, or shades to be more formal, had a soft spot in your heart. It’s practically universally agreed that shades are something of a special case; not really monsters, not really ghosts, and certainly not humans, giving them a flavor of mystery. They were creepy as hell, sure, but they don’t seem to have the capacity to actually _hurt_ anyone. No, they prefer to simply observe rather then cause harm, so much so that some theorists wonder if they even realize they’re not humans. And it was that little theory that always got you. 

How lonely it must be to live in a world and not even know that it doesn't want you.

Equipped with your theoretical knowledge, you were more than a little tempted to approach. After all, most shades are shy, that being why they hang out in corners, and worst case scenario he’d probably teleport away or something leaving you right where you started and none the wiser. Just as you were about to step forward, a gust of wind blasted over your back and towards the creature. For a moment, you were sure your cover was blown, but when you looked back again, he’d merely turned his head to watch the wind go. 

You made a mental note to consider if spirits even _have_ a sense of smell and waited a few moments longer to give him some time before approaching once and for all.

\---

Oz blinked sleepily, completely transfixed by the wonders of this dimension. _What was he here for again?_ Oh, right. He scanned the immediate area, turning slowly from his left to his right. And when he did, well, suffice to say he suddenly was reminded of every tale of warning about the human world ever.

A mere few feet away, a human girl was stalking closer. She was crouched ever so slightly, as though ready to either pounce or give chase, with her attention set squarely on him. But if that wasn’t terrifying enough, she held one hand out to grab and in the other a knife, biting her lip in anticipation.

“_Hey there..._”

It sounded like she meant to be placating, but between that walk and, more importantly, that _knife,_ Oz didn’t find himself feeling much better.

Instinctively, he took a few steps back.

You stopped advancing for just a second.“Don’t be scared”, you said, brandishing a knife after recently appearing from nowhere in the middle of the deep woods. To no one’s surprise except maybe yours, Oz turned and bolted for the barrier between worlds. This was _easily_ one of his worst ideas ever. He looked over his shoulder to see you barreling after him, and saying something that he was far too terrified to pay attention to.

Just a yard or so away… _Humans couldn’t cross into the monster realm, right?_ Oz started breathing hard at the realization that he didn’t know, but prayed to whomever was listening that he was right as he took one last stride to cro-

Without a second to react, Oz slammed into _something_ that had definitely not been there before, his light frame bouncing almost comically off the non-magical obstruction. _Shit._ Rule one of the human world, if a human is watching, the barrier to the monster realm will be sealed to protect it. _How could he have forgotten?_

You skidded to a stop, unsure of how to proceed and just a few inches away as the creature scrambled to his feet. 

Oz pressed his back flush against what he had by now identified as a tree, frantically trying to come up with a way out of this. He wanted to just teleport away and run while you couldn't see him, but terror like he’d never experienced was pounding in his ears, leaving him unable to perform even basic telepathic communication. 

If he couldn’t run, and couldn’t hide, the only option left was to fight, but that didn’t seem like a favorable course of action either. It wasn’t as though he had any form of superior strength or hell, even claws. No, the best he could do was his teeth, but considering how _incredibly_ difficult it was to successfully attack _anything_ really, by biting was a fact easily told and retold by his friend Brian, who definitely would know tat kind of stuff. Besides, he might bite your shoulder or arm, but all he’d really have accomplished was bringing himself well within stabbing distance, and, and… 

A thousand thoughts screamed across Oz’s panicked mind, blurring his vision and choking up his throat. _This was it, this is really how it ends..._

“_Hello!_”, you shouted again as the being stood staring, completely unresponsive. Tentatively at first, but later with motivation to help fix the mess you created, you reached out to touch him. _Was he shaking, or were your eyes playing tricks?_

Everything in his field of vision suddenly grew blindingly bright, spinning slightly then sluggishly as your open palm seemed to reach for his paralyzed body in slow motion. _Oh God, oh FU-_

And just like that, it was over. With a muffled groan that you definitely heard, the shadow creature fell to the ground in a pile, his glowing white eyes disappearing as though blown out like a flame. _Holy shit._ You froze, for the first time since discovering this creature, actually terrified. _Did you just kill him? Could shadow people even die? Unless..._

You dropped to your knees immediately, and pressed a hand to his chest. As exemplified by his collision with the tree, your palm met a solid surface. But… _that couldn’t be!_ By their very definition, shades didn’t have a corporeal presence, and yet here this… _thing_ was, bouncing off of solid objects, putting up a resistance to your touch, and wearing clothes that were quite obviously not a part of his essence, a fact that should’ve tipped you off initially to be frank, but that hardly mattered right now. 

As your hand settled, you noticed just barely, a pulsing sensation somewhere inside. It wasn't quite like a heartbeat, but you assumed that any internal movement was a good indicator that you had not, in fact, terrified an assumedly innocent creature literally to death. Well that was good, you supposed, but it only left you with more questions. Whatever this thing was, it’s clearly a physical being, rather than a spirit like you’d thought, and also… alive? 

Your head spun with confusion at what this could all mean, and more importantly, what you should do now.

On the one hand, you’d found him here in the woods, so you should probably leave him to wake up and go about his business, right? But, at the same time… You had no idea how long he’d be out for, and in that time he’d be completely defenseless against anything else that might be out here. 

With that revelation and after a little deliberation between the two options, a _crazy_ thought crossed your mind.

What if you just… took him home? Yes you’d have to carry his body _all_ the way home, and yes you’d have an unknown entity hanging around your house, all with the very real possibility of him waking up at any moment and doing who even knows what in response, but… _could you really just leave him here?_

You frowned, weighing your options. As your mind debated the subject some more, you touched a finger to his face absentmindedly. It rested on the tip of his nose, the most obvious feature on his otherwise blank face. The skin, for lack of a better word, was cold and had a smooth, yet matte like quality that you found nearly impossible to define clearly. Curious still, you traced up the bridge of his nose up to the ridge of his brow. 

Interestingly, while his eyes had disappeared, his eyebrows had remained, despite appearing to have been glowing brighter. You checked yourself on that glowing comment, and yes, they did appear to be made out of some type of essence rather than hair, especially compared to his _actual_ hair just a few inches away. Despite the bizarre biology, you almost found them endearing in a silly, abstract way. After all, they _were_ incredibly thick, almost exaggeratedly so, reminding you of the way that someone with particularly large ears on an otherwise average face still has a certain cuteness to them.

Pulling yourself out of your thoughts, you ran your fingers through what you had correctly assumed was his hair and then gently around the soft curve of his face. He was just so… _human._

You sighed. _Damn it._

It was times like this that your really wished you could bring yourself to be more heartless, but you couldn’t shake the guilt from his one. You tucked an arm each under his knees and behind his shoulder, giving an unnecessary heave as you shot up, stunned at how impossibly light he was. It was like you were holding little more than the clothes on his back. 

_Oh, this was a horrible idea…_

Regardless, you turned gently and began the long journey back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this took forever and a day.
> 
> Sorry for the hiatus, but I swear I'm not giving up on this fic! Anyway, thank you for holding out, and enjoy!

You took a few breaks along the way, but to your utter shock you made it home without much delay with your newfound, unconscious monster. After wrestling a little to get the door open without dropping him, you were finally able to make it to the shabby old couch. Exhausted more so from all the walking, you crashed on the floor beside where you’d half placed, half dumped, the shadow creature. You exhaled sharply, and then set to work removing your boots and shedding your jacket. 

With all the mist and cool mountain air, it sure as hell didn’t feel like summer.

When all was said and done, you turned around to check on your new friend. _Still unconscious._ You frowned, unsure of how long was _too long_ for him to be out. You supposed that the only upside right now was that you had about two weeks until your family returned from an extended visit in town. As you made your way to the door, shutting it tightly, you smirked to yourself, almost still in disbelief that you managed to convince them to leave you here alone for all that time.

Once the house was secure again, you peered over your shoulder. There didn’t seem to have been any movement that you noticed, but then again you weren’t sure how much noise a being made of shadows could possibly generate. Quietly as you could, you stalked back over to the couch, stopping abruptly and almost disappointedly to find him still laying there. 

A stray whim possessed you as your hand seemed drawn to reach out to him again, but before you could disturb him, you decided against it. Besides, you’d carried him all the way here from the woods already, wasn’t that proof enough that this was real? You rubbed at your eyes, feeling tired, and turned away to attend to other things.

\---

When next Oz woke up, the atmosphere and location had completely changed.

He was inside now, that was for sure, and the room he found himself in was dimly lit. For a second, he dared to hope that he’d been found by the other’s and taken back to camp, but a quick look around said otherwise. On the floor in front of a small fire was a set of intricately illustrated cards and a crystal or two nearby. Startled, he shot up and took stock of himself. He didn’t feel any different and he didn’t see any marks on himself, so that was a good start. 

Maybe he _did_ have a chance to escape.

Before he could get up to investigate the area more thoroughly, a soft padding noise made its way towards the room. _Oh no…_

You circled around to your spot of the floor, casually eating a sandwich that you’d made and taking a seat as a hitch of breath and gentle rustling caused you to glance over. Just in time to catch the shadow boy’s hollow, wide eyed stare. He flitted his gaze down to your tarot deck and then back to you before crushing himself flush against the back of the couch. Before you could comment, you were interrupted.

“W-who are you?”

You stopped chewing and gawked for a moment, completely taken aback by his ability to communicate, and in your own language too! His voice was surprisingly clear, not quite as deep, or hissy, or whatever you were expecting. It was as though you were being spoken to by a normal human being. Before the silence got too uncomfortable, you swallowed and spoke your name a little more flippantly then you probably should’ve, staring back all the while.

Oz watched you slowly finish your food, never breaking eye contact, and taking his own time to adjust to this scenario. _Was this really the same human who’d held him at knife point just a little while ago?_ Everything he’d ever been taught about humans was to either fear or hate them, but you were so… _relaxed._

No, something had to be off here… 

“Well, wh-what are you going to do to me?”, he glanced down at the display before you, not entirely convinced that there wasn’t something more sinister going on.

You blinked at him once, shifted your eyesight left, then right, and settled back on him again, as though looking for the punchline to whatever joke he was trying to make. “... Offer you some food? Then ask you to leave if you don’t mind. No offense, but I _just_ smudged the place”, you pointed over your shoulder to a dried up bundle of herbs on the mantle.

As much as Oz wanted to retort that, first off, he was _not_ a ghost, second, even if he was, he was inclined to believe that his presence was quite non-malicious, thank you very much, and finally, the offer of food _was_ pretty enticing. After all, starting from the moment he’d left camp, it had been a few hours even then since he’d eaten, and who knew how long it’d been from then to now. But then again, he wasn’t sure how much he wanted to trust you…

“You know, I think I’m good…”, he stood up slowly, testing just how serious your promise to let him go was.

You watched him rise, and shrugged, “Your choice”

Oz stood up straight, untensing for a second. _You really didn’t care, huh?_ “So… I can leave”

You responded with a slow, exaggerated nod, and in the same breath of sarcasm, pointed towards the quaint cabin door. “Door’s that way”

He looked at the door and back to you once, as though this was all too good to be true, but when you refused to move even a muscle, he _bolted._ Oz ran across the slightly overgrown lawn and straight into the forest without looking back. Once he’d gotten to a safe enough distance, he caught his breath against a tree. It was the dead of night right now, making it all the better for walking. 

Normally, he’d just phase to wherever he intended to go with a distance this long, but either his nerves were far too frayed or the magic dampening effect of this world was too strong and keeping him from doing anything too strenuous. Whatever the reason, he was glad to still be able to feel the direction of the barrier between worlds guiding him through the woods. 

It was a well known fact that this was a power possessed by all monsters, no matter where they found themselves but, well, Oz just couldn’t help but be a worrier. 

\---

You sat staring at the open doorway for a good long while, contemplating what had just transpired.

_Well that was bizarre._

Truth be told, you were a little disappointed to see him wake up and run off so soon, but you weren’t sure you could’ve expected any other reaction, especially seeing how skittish he was in your first encounter. You heaved a sigh and got up, trudging over to close the door. Were you really disappointed to _not_ be keeping an otherworldly spirit in your house, _alone?_ You considered it a moment, then thought twice. Maybe it wasn’t so much that, but really the missed opportunity to understand him better. After all, how many had the chance to observe a real, live spirit? And even then, you still weren’t sure that that was what he even _was!_

You slammed the door harder than you meant, and latched the bolt. Shaking your head, you went to clean up your spread. A part of you wanted to go out and look for him. After all, he wasn’t _that_ bad, more like a lost kid then a malicious spirit, but your senses screamed what a terrible idea that was. You didn’t even know what you were dealing with, how could you be so willing to risk yourself _again?_

\---

_”There you are!”_

A relieved voice called out to Oz from somewhere across the camp, and within seconds he was nearly tackled by Vicky, his energetic and semi-overprotective friend. She gave him a quick, but sincere squeeze before pulling back and leading him through the grounds, “Where were you? We were _all_ worried!”

“I, uh…”, Oz hesitated, unsure of exactly how much he should share. Going to the human world was a stupid idea, he knew that and so did she. Maybe the real question was did he really want to upset her more than she already was? “I got lost in the woods”

Vicky stopped, and turned to face him. “...For five hours?”

_Had it really been that long?_

“They’re _deep_ woods!”

Oz crossed his arms almost defiantly, but his voice sounded a little as though he himself was unconvinced. Vicky fixed him with her best mom stare, but he was hard to read, beyond his usual nervousness that is. _Damn him._ But she supposed it didn’t really matter. Besides, why would he lie? Vicky sighed, and let up, gesturing onward as the two of them walked to the cabin and chatted lightly.

After a few brief but relieved greetings from his other two roommates, everyone was more then ready to turn in for the night. While his friends snoozed around him, Oz couldn’t help but stay up thinking. Despite, or perhaps _because_, of his encounter today, he couldn’t get his short trip to the human world out of his head from that night onward. He just couldn’t believe how _peaceful_ the other side felt, not at all like the semi-permanently dreary vista of the monster world. The air, the sun, the colors… 

And despite all that, he couldn’t possibly forget you.

One might think that surely an entity as old and far reaching as fear itself would’ve had previous dealings with humans, but Oz would be quick to remind such an individual that he doesn’t _actively_ influence or seek out to cause fear in others and, not unlike the individual members of the coven, the emotion he represents simply exists because he does. With that said, it quite effectively reduces his need to interact with live human beings to about zero. And so it’s been, until recently. 

Unfortunately, his traumatic initial experience left a lot of gaps in his memory regarding the details after you arrived on the scene, but he was satisfied to have held onto a clear memory of your appearance before he lost his shit. The vibrant color of your skin and hair, sort of reminiscent of Amira and the Coven, and yet… not quite, more _human._ The way you moved, cautiously, but excited and purposefully. Even right down to your eyes, sharp, bright, and intense. The way you looked at him with that piercing combination of awe and curiosity, bravely masking the little wisps of fear. 

Truth be told, no one had ever really looked at him quite like that before. 

Here, every monster was regarded in a largely black and white sense. Either they know what you are and they don’t care, or they don’t know, or at least don’t understand, and after they’ve had their fun letting you know what a freak you are, if you’re lucky they forget you exist.

Weirdly it almost made him feel special, the way you regarded him with genuine interest and a kind of respect, something he was so deprived of around here. Deep down, a part of him was either crazy or just plain desperate enough to want to experience that again. In the human world. _With you._ Besides, now that his life was no longer at risk, it was kind of hot the way you just walked up to him, all confident and direct eye contact…

Later the next day, Oz sighed, once again far away in the same daydream, before coming back to reason. 

Wait a second… He seemed to be forgetting how absolutely _insane_ that all was. After all, you were a human and he is a very old, and very powerful monster. Even if social stigma wasn’t a thing, there’s no way that could ever work. _Or was there?_ Now that he thought about it, Aaravi was half monster, right? At least, that’s assuming that the supposed line of slayers she comes from isn’t just a questionably ambitioned type of monster. But then, why would she make the distinction that her father was a monster? Although, looking at where that parental paring left her in life, maybe it wasn’t as successful as he was trying to argue.

On that note, Oz gave a final tug on the rope-knot project he was working on, only to jump a little after finding his other arm practically zip tied to his body in either the best or _worst_ series of knots he’d ever seen. Looking a little further down, the rest was securely wrapped and tangled up his leg and around his waist. A few phobias chittered frustratedly, tugging on the knots in various places on his body in a thoughtful, but ultimately vain attempt to free him. Oz groaned, frustrated _himself_. At least nobody was around to notice, he supposed.

\---

You sat in bed, sketching quietly and taking small breaks to scroll through your favorite and most reliable forum board for all things occult and paranormal. Ever since you’d had that encounter a few short days ago with the shadow creature, and following the disappointing lack of information you acquired about him in the moment, you dove head first into your favorite pastime of all. 

_Obsessive research._

That night, you went to bed kicking yourself for passing up the opportunity of the millennium to get some hard facts about at least _one,_ real life, supernatural creature. It hadn’t even crossed your mind to take a damn _picture_ of the thing. Luckily, or so you hoped, perhaps some of that foregone information could be found through the internet. The morning after, you posted a question to the forum and described the creature and your encounter, sparing no detail on how he looked, felt, and acted.

Most of the responses were skeptics questioning why you were so light on information if you’d had such a close encounter with the alleged creature, but thankfully there were a decent enough amount of helpful responses to dig through as you put the finishing touches on your crude, but sufficient sketch of the being in question.

Obviously it was nearly impossible to capture the ethereal looks of him with your meager art skills and ball point pen, but there was something about him that demanded to be captured in imagery, one way or another. Despite the fact that you were honestly shocked you didn’t piss yourself at some point after being exposed to such a terrifying and unknown entity, you had to concede that there was something beautiful about him too.

You held the drawing up and admired the respectable sketch before tucking it away in your big book of supernatural creatures. 

Turning back to your laptop, you scrolled on for a while longer, hunting for sensible responses. The majority of people who weren’t basically just calling you a liar seemed about as stumped as you were, while a small few suggested that either: 

A) You found some sort of shadow person variant, as in perhaps the species of creatures were evolving to be more human, or B) You found something completely undocumented and likely about as dangerous, like death itself or something, and were beyond lucky to be both alive _and_ sane. 

Interestingly, no one could seem to explain the boyscout esque outfit or the falling unconscious however. Though you supposed you shouldn’t have been surprised seeing as how a spirit, such as a shadow person, wouldn’t respectively need or be able to perform either of those things. With a sigh of agitation at both yourself and the faceless strangers of the internet, you snapped your laptop shut and looked off into space. 

_Was it crazy that you wanted to run into him again?_

You huffed out a laugh, already knowing the answer, but laid there considering the proposal anyway. After all, he couldn’t be _that_ dangerous right? Despite everything, the thought of taking out some revenge in the form of physical harm didn’t seem to even cross his mind, the way he scampered off only after sitting just long enough to ensure that you weren’t going to stab him in the back on his way out. 

As you went about your business for the day, these thoughts trailed you even as you actively tried to leave all the dark, paranormal stuff behind. You practiced a little tarot, threw your knife around, did some meditative and cleansing rituals, and eventually moved on to mundane household chores, but despite it all, something nagged at the back of your mind.

It wasn’t until the next day that you finally decided to take the question to your cards.

The way you saw it, it was high time you cleared the air on the matter of whether or not you would ever get your answers about the mysterious being and you felt like a fool for not turning to your cards earlier. That afternoon, you marched up to your room and headed straight for the shelf housing your trusty deck. Delicately, you brought it down and held it close to your body protectively as you turned. You finally looked up to plan your next course of action and then… 

Standing off in the corner was what had to be the very same shadow boy you’d been wondering about for the past week. He merely watched in silence, but held a tense posture as though he was afraid of what you’d do next. 

Your box of cards hit the floor and scattered, as you stared wide eyed. All of a sudden, you weren’t so sure you were excited to see him… A thousand questions raced through your mind. _What did he want? How did he get here? Where you in danger right now? Why wasn’t he moving? Was this even real?_

In response to your silence, Oz relaxed a little and made to offer some help with your cards. Last night he’d decided to come see you at least one more time, just to sate his own curiosity, and he was certainly glad to find that your initial reaction wasn’t to try and murder him. Besides, he could leave anytime he wanted, so really, he was fine. Right?

After a moment's consideration and finding yourself caught quite off guard, you reacted appropriately. 

Your piercing shriek cut across the room as you pushed yourself flush against the shelving behind you. Across the room, you observed practically the opposite reaction from the shadow creature. His void like eyes went wide for a second before he threw his arms up in front of him, bracing himself, though for what you weren't sure. He stood like that for a moment, slowly relaxing when nothing more happened. The two of you looked at each other in silence, each waiting for the other to say or do _something._

Oz itched at his upper arm, watching you watch him. Obviously he could sense how afraid you were, though he had to commend you for containing it as well as you were. He looked away, focusing on nothing in the mostly empty room. _This was a terrible idea._ Maybe he guessed he could put his thoughts behind him if he could just talk to you, for real this time. But here, in the moment? This was stupid, why would he ever think that you would want to talk with _him?_

You pushed back against the shelf you were leaning on just as the shadow creature turned his attention elsewhere. _Was this a dream?_ The scene you were experiencing was so strange and surreal that for a moment you seriously considered it. Curious for an answer, you took a few steps forward, going unnoticed until one of the old floorboards gave you away.

The sudden sound snapped Oz out of his rambling thoughts as he looked to observe your approach. You froze, doing your best not to scare him off after witnessing him stiffen up.

“You’re not going to run away, are you?”

Oz thought about it, but ultimately, “N-no”

You immediately relaxed. So you really had met a real live, talking, shadow person. Good to know you weren’t crazy. However, as one emotion passed, it was soon replaced by another, “Well then would you mind telling me _how the hell you got in here?_ “ You threw your hands up expressively, “Do you even know many protective measures I put up after last time? Because the answer is _a lot._”

In response to your sudden agitation, Oz remained about as stiff and silent as when you first started walking towards him. You relaxed a little, having sense enough to realize that an aggressive approach obviously wasn’t going to get you very far, “How about this, what even _are_ you?”

This time you stood patiently, hoping to at least get an answer to that one question, if nothing else. 

Oz’s mind raced a mile a minute. _What should he even say?_ As his thoughts tried to weigh the pros and cons of coming up with a lie, and even then, what that lie could possibly be, he heard himself blurt out an answer, “Fear”

Suddenly, you found yourself frozen again. Oh. Assuming this being was telling you the truth, this just became a far more serious matter then you anticipated. True, some sort of fear monster wasn’t as bad as death itself or something, but it felt close enough.

“S-so like a fear… demon, or something?”

Oz wrung his hands together and drew his shoulders together a bit, as every passing moment became more and more convincing that this truly had been a horrible idea, “No, like… _fear itself._”

The tail end of the statement came out like a whisper inside your head, barely there, but just enough for you to register it. You took a few steps back, now fully convinced that this was a force far beyond you. While yes, you didn’t have any proof that this was fact, it was also true that you didn't have anything to prove it _wasn’t._ Besides, better safe than sorry, right?

“Well, what do you want?”, your voice wavered as terror of the unknown seeped in. 

In response to your skyrocketing distress, Oz changed posture in a flash, hands up in what he hoped was a calming gesture. As the living manifestation of fear, he could sense the fear levels off of essentially any being at anytime, just as easily as one might estimate emotions off of a face or body language. That said, being that he was _made_ of fear, he sort of subsisted off of it as well, and yet, despite all the shit he got from other monsters… he just couldn’t bring himself to _like_ it.

“Nothing! Er, uh, nothing _like that…_ I just, I wanted to… talk?”, Oz dropped his arms to his side. With the amount of fear you were producing right now, he was honestly surprised you hadn’t passed out or _something_ by now. Obviously, there was nothing he could say to make this better.

And yet, you ventured a little further, “Why?”

Oz sighed and gave a small shrug, “I don’t know… I guess, I’ve just never met a human before and I always thought they all hated monsters, but well, you were kinda actually _nice_ to me and I just kept thinking about it and so I decided to come back, but now you’re freaked out, and I’m kinda freaked out, and I think maybe I should just leave, but also I-”

As the apparent embodiment of fear itself rambled on, you took the opportunity to think. Maybe your initial instincts were right, and you had nothing to fear from this creature. If anything, it sounded like he was about as curious of you as you were of him, although he seemed far more nervous about it. Strange how “fear itself” could display the act of being afraid, you thought, but then again, if he literally _is fear_, then is he _made_ of fear? And if that’s true, then wouldn’t being made of one particular emotion influence your personality to primarily exhibit that emotion? 

You blinked quickly, recovering form your own tangent to find fear still going on about… something… 

“Alright, alright, it’s ok”, mercifully, you stopped him to steer the conversation towards something more productive. “So… what should I call you? Do you go by fear or…?”

“Oh, well I guess… But, I usually like to go by Oz”

_Oz._ Not exactly the alternate name you would’ve guessed for the literal representation of fear itself, but you had to admit, at least it was far less pretentious. In an effort to lighten the mood, you admitted as much which elicited a genuine laugh from your new acquaintance. After hurtling the initial shock and awkwardness of meeting one another more formally, you pushed a little further with your backlog of questions, including some of your newly generated ones. 

_Are there other entities like him? Does he have a place where he lives, such as the forest or, as something more like a concept, does he actually exist everywhere? What does the avatar of fear even do? How was he talking right now? Could other people hear him if they were in the same room, or does his voice only travel to the intended recipient? If he’s as old as the emotion of fear itself, then how is it that, for all intents and purposes, he looks, sounds, and acts like a highschool aged boy?_

Of course, you at least made an effort to take the interrogation slow so as to not scare him off, but your excitement was hard to contain. _Finally!_ After all your years of studying supernatural and spiritual elements, you had made contact (face to face even!) with your very first supernatural being. 

On the other end of things, Oz was more than a little intimidated by your sudden barrage of questions. After all, no one had really expressed such an interest in him, not even his own friends really. He supposed he was happy that they just accepted him in all his unusualness, but, to his surprise, he found it bizarrely entertaining to have a chance to talk about, well, _himself._

Eventually, things wound down and Oz took a few turns to ask about _you._ In return, you happily answered all his easy questions like explaining and identifying your tarot deck as such, talking about this place, why you were in the woods to begin with, and a few tentative questions about your trusty knife. As the conversation progressed, the two of you migrated downstairs to the very same living room and couch you’d first officially met at, carrying on like that for a few hours more.

Finally, at a break in the conversation, Oz casually checked his watch, looked away, and then back at the watch once more with urgency. Before you could ask what the matter was, Oz jumped up from where he was sitting.

“_Woah!_ Sorry, I didn’t realize it was so late! I have to get back to- Er uh, I have to go…”, his voice trailed off, hoping you wouldn’t ask after where, _exactly_ he was heading.

You rose from your seat about half way, concerned, but doing your best to hide it, “Well, wait! A-are you going to come back? You know, eventually?”

Oz considered the question for a moment. 

He certainly could if he wanted to. Although, it would involve sneaking away from camp… _again._ But he could always make excuses, right? And besides, he couldn’t pin down a single, serious moment where he regretted coming here on impulse. That, and there was something about talking with someone who seemed genuinely interested in hearing what he had to say, superficially as it may be, that greatly overpowered his desire to do any one of the fuck all activities back at camp.

“Sure”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What kind of Monster Prom fan would I be to not update on Halloween?

When Oz arrived back at the cabin, he was relieved to find the rest of his friends fast asleep. In the interest of both being silent and getting to sleep as quietly and quickly as possible, he phased from the doorway and into bed. He froze for a second to see if anyone was going to stir, but fell gratefully into the sheets when the room remained silent. 

_Maybe this sneaking off thing was going to be easier than he thought._

The next morning, Oz was awoken far to soon for his taste by his friends. There were some questioning looks and questioning questions about where he had been last night, seeing as how nobody saw him come in to bed, but thankfully no one pushed the topic too hard in the rush to get ready for the day. In the meantime, it was time to decide how to spin his lie…

As the four monsters took their usual table for four, the silence was broken by Amira. “So Oz, where were _you_ last night?”, she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and nodded in the direction of his rumpled, slept in day clothes from yesterday.

_Shit._

Oz dropped his hand back to the table in an effort to keep it from shaking. _Ok, no big deal. Now… what was his story going to be again?_ “Uh, I-I was in the woods…?” Foiled by his shitty lying skills yet again. No sooner had the words left his conscious then did Vicky shoot him a stone cold stare of doubt.

“_Again?_”

Now he was _really_ panicking. On the one hand, he wasn’t exactly lying… He just wasn’t telling the whole story either. But at the same time, being MIA like that was already so against his usual behavior, that he couldn’t possibly think of something convincing to say. Oz scratched at his bicep and stuttered a syllable or two before being rescued against the odds.

“Ok, I can’t take it anymore”, Amira, who was now looking bored and perhaps a little annoyed spoke up. She turned to Vicky, “_Obviously,_ he’s out chasing tail”. She winked and smiled smugly, as though she had it all figured out.

Vicky seemed caught off guard for a moment, not entirely convinced that that was the truth, and yet completely lacking in any other ideas for what the actual truth might be. Even Brian looked up from his cereal for a moment, suddenly intrigued. “...Really?”, the zombie asked.

Almost to Oz’s disbelief, the other two seemed to be buying Amira’s misguided story almost as much as she herself did. Brian soon went back to eating, but kept an ear to the conversation. Meanwhile, Vicky seemed to grow slightly more excited rather than flat out incredulous, “Well… who is it?”

Oz looked over to Amira, hoping against hope for another rescue, but she merely sat staring just as intently. “Th-that’s none of your business”, he took a sip of coffee, trying to just end this wild conversation already on the hopes that a brash approach would shut everyone down.

“Daaamn, well alright then”, Amira laughed, looking a little proud at his response. “Anyway, you guys are probably just bitter that you aren’t as fast as us”, with that, she focused back on eating her food as though the statement was indisputable. And just like that, the topic of conversation switched gears, taking the spotlight successfully off Oz. 

“Ugh, you don’t have to rub you and Damien in our faces you know”, Vicky answered back, opening a teasing argument between the two while Brian tuned them out once and for all.

_Finally_

Throughout the day, Oz kept reflecting back on the conversation at breakfast. While he was certainly glad to have had _someone_ cover his ass, intentionally or not, he couldn't say he was exactly thrilled with this story either. For one thing, it would be hard to keep up the ruse of going out so often if his friends thought he was out… doing the deed, with someone at camp when it just wasn’t true. Second of all, silly as it may seem, seeing as how he wasn’t really a “one and done” type of guy, he was worried about how this might affect his reputation. And yet… considering how much _more_ damaging it would be if word got around that he was _intentionally spending time with a human..._ Well, suffice to say that the current story wasn’t the worst option.__

_ _\---_ _

_ _In the days preceding your latest run in with Oz, you were _ecstatic_ with all the new information you’d gathered. To those more experienced in the ways of spirituality and the mystic arts, this may seem like a rather small ordeal, but that fact of the matter was, to you, it meant everything. Admittedly, you had been starting to lose faith in the notion of another world, the kind that’s home to spirits and monsters. Even if you could’ve encountered just a simple poltergeist to throw your shit around, you would’ve been happy, but now? Now, you’d met something so powerful, it would take a whole deeply experienced coven to maybe successfully summon, meanwhile you got to talk with him by mere chance! _ _

_ _You spent the time going to town in your journal and sharing on your supernatural forum. But afterwards… you simply didn’t know what to do with yourself. Crazy as it was, you _wanted_ Oz to come back, even if it meant silently teleporting into your house like he did before. He _did_ say he’d come back, right? Well, he said “sure”, but what did that mean? Looking back, it wasn’t as reassuring as a sold yes or no…_ _

_ _Eventually, your parents returned from their long two weeks visitations to find you bored out of your skull. Naturally they tried to engage you more, mostly with stories about your extended family and their friends that they’d met with while they were away. You tried to be politely interested, but there had just been so much going on that you found it hard to be invested in things you didn’t care too much about in the first place._ _

_ _With things going the way they were with your parents as well as the absence of Oz, you decided you needed something to do. Your parents suggested accompanying them on the day trips they planned to take with _their_ friends and immediate family, but… you had a better idea. _ _

_ _The next day, phone in hand and knife in pocket, you did a little solo touring of the sleepy mountain town. You’d decided that the best excuse for avoiding the boring interactions your parents wanted to steer you towards was to fill the time with a good, honest summer job._ _

_ _There wasn’t much within walking distance, but what _was_ available wasn’t awful. There was a serving job at a little restaurant, a barista position in the local cafe, and a few other odds and ends type stuff, but what you were really here for was the library page position. Much to your pleasant surprise, the ancient library in the heart of the town was as massive as it was beautiful, quite the sight beside the almost equally impressive town hall and quaint surrounding buildings._ _

_ _You stopped to read the memorial plaque outside, growing all the more interested in the promise of a treasure trove of books, graciously donated from the now long gone founding family. With freshly sparked intruique, you made your way through the solid doors and up to the heavy wooden front desk. You presented the stately older woman stationed there with a filled out application form for the position you were seeking and found yourself rather shocked to be almost immediately asked for an interview._ _

_ _From observation alone, you gathered that there weren’t many working age individuals such as yourself in the tourism heavy town which, if the overwhelming success of your interview was anything to go by, made you a shoe in._ _

_ _The work was easy enough, mostly just shelving and retrieving books, and you couldn’t have been happier. With stacks upon stacks of yellowing, pleasant smelling books to lose yourself in, you almost forgot all about Oz’s promise to spend time with you again._ _

_ _Almost._ _

_ _Days passed and still, nothing. Maybe it was stupid, but you were honestly starting to worry. On the one hand, you weren’t certain anyone could actually harm fear itself, after all, something so important to the functioning of the world would surely be invincible right? And yet, he must have obligations _somewhere,_ otherwise why worry about being late for anything?_ _

_ _Next time you had a day off, you took up your trusty knife and made off for the forest. If it worked once, surely you could find him again. You continued on for a while, trying to remember the path you took the first time, before coming to a dead stop. The first time you’d met was through something of a ritual… You pulled your knife out and aimed for a random tree. Couldn’t hurt, could it?_ _

_ _The blade sailed through the air with a gentle hum before landing with pinpoint accuracy. _Nice._ You smiled and ran after it, following up with a few more throws. On the fifth toss the blade was embedded deeply, giving you some trouble trying to pull it out. With a final heave you finally pulled it lose, your arms shooting back with the force._ _

_ _Before you could situate yourself, you were caught off guard by a loud, sharp hiss. You looked left then right, not sure where the sound had come from, before your eyes landed on Oz. He appeared taken aback, the edges of his wide white eyes taking on what you could only describe as a frayed look, before he broke the silence, “You _scared_ me!” He brushed off his biceps, despite the fact that nothing had touched him, as his thick eyebrows jumped down to form what you assumed was meant to be interpreted as a scowl. _ _

_ _“Sorry” you mumbled, before changing gears to express your excitement, “I was just looking for you!” A part of you felt compelled to go in for some form of physical greeting, but ultimately your sense decided against it._ _

_ _Oz looked away briefly and scratched his scalp. “I know, it’s just been hard to get away fro-”, he paused and caught himself, “... from all the stuff I’ve been busy with”_ _

_ _“Yeah, me too”. Oz sighed internally, relieved that you didn’t notice. “But hey, you’ll never guess what!”_ _

_ _Your talkative nature (well, compared to his that is) took over, as you proceeded to tell him all about your new job as well as the events that led up to it, primarily the part about your parents now being a semi permanent fixture in your house. “So I guess it’s kind of a good thing we met our here”, you laughed. _ _

_ _Oz agreed and made sure to keep that detail in mind. Out of fear of you switching the conversation over to what exactly _he’d_ been doing all this while, he asked once and for all about your knife and what you’d been doing. You happily complied and even offered a demonstration, hurling the knife to the next tree after briefly explaining the game. The two of you rushed over to retrieve it and, once it was dislodged, you offered Oz a toss._ _

_ _Never one to turn down an opportunity to impress someone, Oz hesitantly accepted the weapon. You gave him a few pointers on how to hold it and where to throw it, and with only the second worst form you’d ever seen, you did your best to hold back laughter as your knife bounced off the tree. Oz tried to give up right there, but you beckoned him after you as you retrieved the knife out of the grass and held it out to him again._ _

_ _“Come on…”, you implored, “you can do better than that”_ _

_ _You waged the knife in front of him and gave him an encouraging smile. To be honest, that was pretty awful and he was fairly certain that he could, in fact, _not_ “do better than that”. And yet, he didn’t really want to throw away this bonding time you were trying to have with him. In the end, he conceded and the two of you lost track of time and direction as you coached him through each embarrassingly bad throw, until… _Finally,_ the tip of the blade found its mark._ _

_ _Oz turned towards you, wide eyed with excitement, to find you feeling about the same. Without thinking you hooked an arm around his shoulders and gave him a friendly squeeze. Once your mind caught up to your body mere seconds later, you relinquished him immediately, feeling more than a little embarrassed. However, Oz seemed completely unfazed, looking back at you with a smile written in his eyes. This time he called you after him as he rushed off to get the knife from the tree in the clearing._ _

_ _He handed the knife over to you, “I can’t believe it, that was great!”_ _

_ _“Yeah, you di-”_ _

_ _“_Oz!_”_ _

_ _Your head snapped around to follow the sound of the piercing female voice, and your heart just about stopped. A few feet away stood what looked like a young, zombie looking girl, around your age. No, correction, a _frankenstein_ looking girl. She looked form you to Oz and back to you, her face confused and panicked while she seemed unable to decide if she wanted to run towards the two of you or back to wherever she came from._ _

_ _“_Vicky?_ U-uh, wh-what are you doing here?”, Oz was laser focused on this “Vicky” while you stood there reeling._ _

_ _“_Me?_ I came out here to find _you!_”_ _

_ _“...You thought I was sneaking away to hook up all this time, and yet you thought it would be a good idea to follow me?” Oz asked the question flatly, as it snapped you back to reality._ _

_ _ _Wait, what?_ _ _

_ _Vicky seemed to completely forget about you for the time being, and suddenly grew serious. She crossed her arms and shot Oz a condescending look, “Oz, no one _actually_ thinks that’s what you were doing. Amira was probably just trying to respect your privacy”, she said frankly._ _

_ _While Oz tried to recover from that roast, Vicky whipped her attention back to you. “Which was stupid, considering you were out doing… _this!_”, she gestured vaguely to you, before glaring disappointed daggers at her friend. _ _

_ __Now wait just a minute…_ At that you spoke up, “Woah woah woah, there is no ‘_doing_ going on here’, you gestured rapidly between Oz and yourself. “We’re just friends, hanging out. Ok?”_ _

_ _Vicky tensed up once you addressed her directly, heard you out, and looked over to Oz for some kind of confirmation. Either ends of his usually round eyes looked ever so slightly flattened with a faint crease under each as he replied with a shaky, “Y-yeah”. A detail easily overlooked by most, but to one of his best friends? He was… actually _disappointed?_ Vicky couldn’t believe it. Well, if nothing else, at least she understood why he kept sneaking out here. Kinda._ _

_ _“Anyway, I don’t want any trouble here…”, you backed up a little, looking from Oz to Vicky as you waited for one of the monsters to say _something.__ _

_ _Oz turned to look at you with that same nearly undetectable look on his face as Vicky had described, “Well, I guess I better go…”_ _

_ _“O-ok. Later then?”_ _

_ _“Yeah”, Oz made his way slowly over to Vicky, who watched you backup a good couple steps before taking off into the tree line._ _

_ _Oz scratched at the side of his head, refusing to make eye contact, “Ok, lets go”_ _

_ _Vicky turned without a word and walked towards the barrier with Oz following close beside her. Once they were safe on the other side, Vicky grabbed Oz’s wrist and yanked him suddenly into a small, hedged in area before wheeling around to confront him. “Oz you can’t be _serious!_”_ _

_ _Oz sputtered a little, brushing leaves off of himself, “What are you _talking_ about?”_ _

_ _“You know _exactly_ what I’m talking about”, Vicky leaned forward insistently, but Oz continued to play dumb. “_Oz,_ she’s a _human!__ _

_ _Suddenly Oz straightened up. “It’s not like that! You heard her, w-we’re friends”_ _

_ _“Yeah, that’s what _she_ thinks, I’m more concerned about _you!_”, Vicky gestured at him expressively, still incredulous that she was even having this conversation._ _

_ _Oz crossed his arms defiantly, “Oh what, I can’t have unconventional friends? Is that so hard to believe?”_ _

_ _“You’re really going with this ‘mutual friends' story, huh?”_ _

_ _“_It’s not a sto-_”_ _

_ _“_Is that why the most spineless guy I know is risking his life nearly every day to go kick around in the human world?_”, Vicky snapped back, quickly growing tired of this game._ _

_ _“H-Hey!”_ _

_ _Vicky sighed, exasperated. “Ok, sorry. It’s just, why are you trying to lie so hard? Just admit you got caught!”_ _

_ _For a moment, Oz entertained the idea of continuing to wear her down in the hopes she’d give up, but… Well, he’d been holding onto this for a while. Maybe he’d feel better to tell _someone_ he trusted._ _

_ _“Alright, fine! I do like her ok? There, now you all have one more thing to make fun of me about”, Oz kicked at the dirt angrily, immediately regretting having said anything._ _

_ _“I’m not going to make fun of you Oz… It's just, _why?_ Humans are dangerous! Besides, there’s plenty of nice, _safer_ monster girls around here!”_ _

_ _Now it was Oz’s turn to stare challengingly, “Like who?”_ _

_ _“Polly, Miranda, Zoe, uh… oh, Joy too!”_ _

_ _Oz responded to the questionable list in quick succession. “Not interested in my personality, not interested in my social status, agreed to be just friends millennia ago, only into vampires. _Next?_”_ _

_ _Vicky blinked, dumbfounded at her suggestions being shot down so quickly. Not to be self centered, but honestly she was the only other person she could think of whose personality was even somewhat compatible with his, but the four of them had set ground rules to not date within their bonds as roommates long ago, so… “Well maybe you should consi-”_ _

_ _“Just _stop,_ ok?”, Oz stood his ground in an almost uncharacteristic show of boldness. “I know it’s hard for you to believe, but she’s not what you think humans are like. Not at all! S-she’s smart and _cool_ and she treats me with respect, which is more than I can say for most everyone back at _school._”_ _

_ _Oz went on a little longer, recounting the few but precious times you’d spent together and how things just felt _different_ around you. Vicky listened quietly, considering every word he said. Maybe she _was_ being a little harsh on him… After all, it wasn’t as though she herself was never human once. And besides, she couldn't deny how happy being around you seemed to make him, never mind the fact that she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d seen Oz get so passionate about something like he was now._ _

_ _“I-I just can’t believe she doesn’t like me”, Oz sighed, his shoulders hanging limply, “I don’t know, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”_ _

_ _“Well I mean, you’ve only known each other for a couple of days right? You can’t just expect people to catch feelings that quickly, no matter how impressed with you they might be”_ _

_ _Oz’s mood lifted slightly, but only due to his growing sense of suspicion. “Why are you trying to give me advice? I thought you were against all this…”_ _

_ _“Yeah well, as much as I distrust this random person whom I’ve only ever seen brandishing a knife and eyeing me suspiciously… I care more about you being happy”, Vicky smiled that warm, disarming smile of hers as Oz began to cool down. The two made a deal to keep this topic between them and began to head through the thicket towards camp with a plan to make things work out between you and Oz in the works. _ _

_ _“So, tell me more about her…”_ _


End file.
